Jermaine Jenas says fans are to blame for lack of openly gay players

In the wake of rumours that two top-level footballers are set to come out publicly, professional footballer Jermaine Jenas claims that it’s notpotential locker room abuse that keeps players in the closet, but fan culture.

In a column for Yahoo! the former QPR star argued that the absence of out footballers isn’t due to flak from their fellow players, but potential abuse from the stands.

“When you’re in a football team you’re in it together, no matter what, and every player would accept a gay teammate with no problem whatsoever,” he said.

Discussing the recent coming out of rugby players, including Keenag Allen and Sam Stanley, he adds: “A rugby crowd is a bit different to a football one, and it’s a fear of being abused at away grounds that most prevents footballers coming out.

“Football is a game where we still have fans meeting up for a pre-match scrap – we’re talking borderline caveman stuff. You can imagine the homophobic songs that would rear their heads if a football player came out as gay.”

The 32-year-old went on to describe his own experience as the subject of rumours around his sexuality, saying that though he faced minimal abuse, it was “a small dose of what life could be like as a player coming out in the Premier League”.

He argued that there’s never been a better time to be an out-and-proud player, but he kept things real too. He wrote, “I can’t pretend that footballers are all lovely people who will be on the pitch saying, ‘Well done for coming out. That was very brave.’ It’s a cutthroat business where people are trying to find a weakness and get a reaction, so a gay player would certainly have to deal with that.”

Jenas’s comments come as renewed interest around the issue of gay footballers engulfs the media, with former Arsenal star Thierry Henry arguing that it would be “great” for the game, and an online bookmaker has been condemned for offering odds on which player might be the first to come out.

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